Karl Williams was a beloved 49-year-old Black man who had dedicated his life to educating and coaching teenagers in his hometown of Orangeburg, South Carolina. Known as a gentle soul and a kind-hearted man, he lived in his childhood home on Myers Road, a quiet street where neighbors and family often gathered, to care for his elderly mother.
On the evening of December 14, 2020, just after Williams and his mother had finished their weekly family prayer call, there was a knock at the front
door. It was shortly before 9 p.m. when Williams went to answer it. As he did, a barrage of gunfire erupted. Williams was struck multiple times in the torso and collapsed just inside the doorway. His mother, who was watching television in the living room, witnessed the horrific event but was not injured. Investigators later determined that at least 15 shots had been fired, striking the house and Williams's car.
The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office launched an intensive homicide investigation. A neighbor reported seeing a white vehicle in the driveway and someone running back to it just after the gunshots. This was later corroborated by surveillance footage from a nearby school. The investigation led to three arrests. In January 2021, deputies arrested 18-year-old Aloysius Green Jr. and charged him with murder. In March, a 16-year-old was also taken into custody on a murder charge. The third suspect, 18-year-old Calik Guinyard, was located in Florida and extradited back to South Carolina in August 2021 to face a murder charge.
Prosecutors argued at trial that the shooting was a tragic case of mistaken identity. The attackers had allegedly gone to the Williams home seeking retaliation against someone who no longer lived there, and Karl Williams was not their intended target. The 16-year-old suspect was identified as Sayquan Harrison, and his case was transferred from family court so he could be tried as an adult alongside Calik T. Guinyard.
After a two-day trial, an Orangeburg County jury found both Calik T. Guinyard and Sayquan Harrison guilty of murder. Guinyard was sentenced to life in prison. At the sentencing, the victim’s brother, Shawn Williams, quoted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” before adding, “Justice has spoken.”
As of January 2026, charges against the third co-defendant, Aloysius Green, remained pending after he testified at the trial.
